Trump Administration Issues Advance Copy of Rule Intended to Gut Asylum Seekers’ Due Process Rights

CONTACTS:
George Tzamaras 202-507-7649 gtzamaras@aila.org	Belle Woods 202-507-7675 bwoods@aila.org

WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, November 8, 2018, the Trump administration issued an advance copy of an interim rule intended to block asylum seekers from a caravan hundreds of miles away from accessing due process. In response, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) issued the following statement:

“The Trump administration is using a caravan of desperate people hundreds of miles away as an excuse to gut our nation’s laws and block asylum seekers from getting a fair shot at asylum. U.S. law guarantees a fair and meaningful chance to request asylum, even for those entering between ports. Not everyone is eligible for asylum, but everyone deserves to have their claim heard. The administration’s attempt to do an end run around that fundamental American value of due process is reprehensible. Forcing asylum seekers to apply at ports of entry means even more people will be turned away, something the administration is already doing. America needs actual solutions to address this complicated problem, including working with the Mexican and Central American governments to improve access to asylum and increasing the number of refugees we resettle from those countries.”

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 18110860.